Making Mecca a "Mecca" for Public Transit

An international group of engineers are working to turn Mecca into an "transit powerhouse" to help support its growing population and the demands of its annual sacred hajj pilgrimage. According to the Globe and Mail,

"A site that is regarded as one of the holiest on the planet is gearing up for a 21st-century transit makeover. Mecca, birthplace of Mohammed, is aiming to create a massive, multimodal public transit network to accommodate the millions of Muslim pilgrims who flock there. And Canadian transportation engineers are among those helping them.

There are already plans under way for wide-ranging subway, light-rail and rapid-transit bus lines. But even at maximum capacity – each subway line carrying 50,000 people an hour in each direction, and each LRT and BRT line carrying about half that – these won't be enough to accommodate the growth in pilgrims and residents expected over the next two decades."